Renting a car.

bigpanda

So I'm trying to find a rental car while I'm back in Detroit for the holidays (I know, but Afghanistan is too long of a plane trip) and am trying to do so as cheaply and conveniently as possible. Right now all the quotes from Priceline and the like are close to or over $1,000 for the 18 days that I'll be back. I'd love to keep it under $600, but I'm beginning to doubt that's going to be likely the way this is going. I'm seeing on their main page people getting cars in the Detroit area for about $13/day but my bids have been as high as $32/day and are still getting rejected.

Anyone have any suggestions on getting a successful bid on Priceline?

And Detroit, if you're reading this, get some mass transportation that works. This rental car shit sucks.

chaosisorder

Have you tried getting a quote from Rent A Wreck? I've used them before and the cars were fine except somewhat visually banged up.

My only suggestion with Priceline is that you book a place like normal (this goes for car or hotel) directly that has a generous cancellation policy (and make sure you read it!) and then keep Priceline name-your-pricing until the last minute you can cancel your other reservation. You can get awesome deals when vendors have openings they don't think they'll fill and drop their Priceline accepted price. And if you don't get what you want on Priceline, then you have a backup reserved elsewhere!

matt has a problem

Which dates are you looking to rent a car?

bigpanda

matthasaproblem wrote: »

Which dates are you looking to rent a car?

12/19 through 1/05. About 18 days.

There's a chance I might be able to borrow my parents car when they're not using it. I'm keeping that as a backup but they only have one car between the two of them so I wouldn't really have access to it between 7 AM and 9 PM.

bigpanda

Been doing some searching and so far the best price i've been able to find is Dollar.com for about $850/900 for the time I need it. Still higher than I want to go but I've still got another couple hours before I need to lock something in.

matt has a problem

You just have a lot working against you in Detroit. It's a high crime area, it's a border city, and you're renting over both Christmas and New Years.

bigpanda

Ok, fuck Dollar. I just went back to their site and their prices have gone up by about $400 for the duration of my trip in the last 3 hours.

bigpanda

I know, but what kills me is that two years ago I was able to rent the same stuff for about $11/day for the same time period. Now it's quadrupled. Grrrrr. I'm beginning to think that I might have to rely on begging for rides/borrowing the 'rents car.

wmelon

As bad as it sounds you could try to find a really cheap beater on craigslist and sell it for scrap when you get ready to leave. Obviously you'd need to get some temporary insurance for it. If top gear can manage it, surely americans can manage it too

bigpanda

Still shooting with Priceline. I did find a couple coupon sites that I'll post when I get home that were able to get me out the door at around $875. Still not ideal but I need to check to see if I can cancel anytime. If so, I'll make the reservation, try priceline again tomorrow and if it sticks at the price I bid then cancel.

I did check to see what i got my rental for last year and it was $13/day for almost the same location and time period. My bids for $34 today were being rejected.

I know the economy stinks right now, but jeez.

matt has a problem

Are you already in Detroit? If not, are you flying there?

bigpanda

matthasaproblem wrote: »

Are you already in Detroit? If not, are you flying there?

Flying in from Seattle tomorrow night. Should land around 6 AM EST.

Worst case scenario right now is take a cab to my parents house and then keep looking for a local rental company or other alternative once I get there.

Was hoping for a car before Friday night as a buddy from Chicago's coming in and we were supposed to hit some clubs and "Hey bro" it up.

Glaeal

Search Orbitz.

Hertz economy car, for that time period, shows $273 per week, total of $874.

*edit*
And now I actually read the thread again. sorry.

I read $600 and heard $800.

I don't think you're going that low.

bigpanda

Yeah, I budgeted for 400 based on the cost from last year (trip was 5 days longer then). I can afford $600, but anything more than that and I'm really going to have to cut some expenses for the next couple months to recoup the cash.

Daenris

Question... are you only searching for locations at the airport? I just went and picked the first location that showed up for a search of just Detroit on Enterprise and it's showing me rates under $500 total for your time period. Obviously you'd need to get a ride from the airport, but I'd say it's worth it if you're saving $3-400.

Edit: In fact, pretty much every location other than the airport on Enterprise is giving me rates around $500.

Smurph

I'm also getting $500 area for the Avis that is built in to the Sears in Oakland Mall, if that is a place you can get a ride to easily. Hopefully you are somewhere in the suburbs.

NP

www.kayak.com, I see plenty from enterprise that are under $500. Airports generally charge ridiculous surcharges, and for a trip this long it's probably cheaper to get a cab or a ride to one of the non-airport locations.

Edit: Also, if you're not staying inside the actual city of Detroit, try putting in the name of the suburb on kayak.com, and you'll probably end up finding even cheaper deals. I don't know anything about the Detroit area, but I put in Taylor, MI (because it looks like it's right next to the airport), and I got even cheaper quotes (like $442).

NP

Also, try searching google for rental car discount codes, for example through your college (even if you have already graduated, through their alumni association) or any organizations you're part of, or even the company you work for. You'd be surprised, most of them have discount codes available. My school's alumni association has a discount code for Enterprise, and I was able to knock the price down to about $417 outside of Detroit.

Hypatia

Another option could be to check if there are any car sharing programs in Detroit. If there are, you might be able to just sign up for them and then just borrow a car at an hourly rate when you need it. Not sure if there are any there though.